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New import rules for iron ore are set to be introduced after Beijing slapped taxes on barley imports from Australia and banned beef imports altogether. Trade analysts said the new rules appear to make trade easier because mandatory inspections for every batch have been replaced by optional checks at the request of the importer.

This is another implicit warning to Australia

Yu Lei

But they said the new system leaves the door open for Australian exporters to be targeted for extra checks compared with competitors.

Iron ore is Australia’s biggest export to China and is worth around $63billion a year.

Yu Lei of Liaocheng University told the state-controlled newspaper the Global Times: “This is another implicit warning to Australia.

“It is associated with how Australia has acted and a general decline in demand for steel on the global level.”

China’s General Administration of Customs said from June 1 officials can conduct spot-checks “if necessary”.

A spokesman insisted the changes are meant to streamline the process and facilitate trade.

An iron ore trader at Lianyungang Port said he did not think the changes had been made to punish Australia.

He told the Global Times: “I see it as a value-added service that will improve efficiency and inventory turnover at ports.”

But iron-ore analyst Du Hongfeng warned the new system could be used to single out Australian exporters.

He said: “Australia asked for a groundless investigation into coronavirus by following a certain country.

“Therefore the market will link this to other things.”

Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham told Daily Mail Australia: “We welcome any improvements in administrative arrangements that could streamline the customs clearance of iron ore imports.”

Last week China introduced an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley after suspending imports from four Australian beef suppliers for 30 days over alleged labelling issues, sparking fears it was retaliation for seeking an inquiry.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said: “We would be disappointed if there was any process of conflating these issues.”

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Relations between Beijing and Canberra have nosedived over Australia’s leading role in the push for a global inquiry into the origins and spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

World Health Organisation members voted overwhelmingly for an independent review on the pandemic earlier this week, with China eventually joining over 130 other countries as a co-sponsor.

Canberra said it wanted to learn the lessons of the pandemic so the world could prevent a repeat but China has attacked Australia’s lobbying for an inquiry as “political manoeuvring”.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra derided as “a joke” the Australian assertion that the WHO resolution, first proposed by the European Union, was a vindication of its push for a global review.

An article in the Global Times yesterday cited an anonymous comment made in a Weibo post saying “Australia, this giant kangaroo that serves as a dog of the US, will hit a deadlock with China on trade disputes in sectors like coal and beef.”

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